might he be dyspraxic?

[helyg]

Having read another thread on here about Dyspraxia, I went the Dyspraxia Foundation website and looked at the list of symptoms. It felt like a bit of a Eureka moment as it seemed to describe DS2.

A bit of background: DS2 is 6. We have been having problems with him in school with what his teacher thinks are behaviour issues, basically he doesn't do as he's told a lot of the time! He is slow to finish his work, despite (as his teacher says) being clever enough to be able to do it. His reading age is 8.5, but he struggles to write very much, especially when "under pressure" in the classroom. He tends to daydream a lot. He doesn't perform very well in PE as he doesn't seem to "get" what they are meant to be doing, and he has trouble with things like balancing and catching.

At home he isn't as bad as when he is in a class of 30. But he does struggle to follow instructions, for example if you ask him to go upstairs and find something he will have forgotten what he was supposed to be looking for by the time he gets to the top of the stairs. His coordination is poor, he still runs like a toddler, he can't ride a bike without stabilisers and he can't scoot a 2 wheeled scooter for very long. He is slow dressing, almost as though he is confused as to which item of clothing comes next, and he often puts his shoes on the wrong feet. He bursts into tears quite easily, and often gets cross with himself.

As I say his teacher has been calling me in frequently due to his behaviour in school. She at one point thought he might have ADHD, but his paediatrician strongly felt that he didn't. Then she thought that he was having "episodes" (which I thought were just daydreaming) where he would go completely blank in class. He was tested for epilepsy, but that came back negative.

I have asked for him to be assessed in school, but they are dragging their feet organising it. He sees the paediatrician next in August.

Do you think I should mention to school that I think it might be dyspraxia? Do you think it would do any good? I really want him to be assessed properly so that we can get to the bottom of it, at the moment I am at the end of my tether at being called in every 5 minutes to discuss it without any progress being made.

Sorry for the long post!

anyone?

Poor little chap.

It does sound as though he would benefit from an assessment by an OT (Occupational Therapist)

Why does he see a Paediatrician?

I would also chase up the school assessment, particularly if the school are being punitative.

hi, poor little chap
yes i would defo bring this up.go to your doctor and speak to him if you feel the school are draggin their heels.

i have just come out the other end of appointments and meeting with school over the same type of thing and my only advice is to keep on at the school weekly.
Keep a diary at home of things you see of your son that may link him to this,take these into the school,the docs. dont let the matter drop if you feel strongley bout it.

He is your son,you know him best. the school only see him for so many hours a week.so they need time to base their worries on something.

good luck,i bet he is a fab little man.

hely my sister is going through a simalar thing at the moment everything you describe you think you were describing her son. she is at work at the moment so i cant ask her how she got an OT in the school to help. his OT are going with dyspraxia but it is a long road before he is diagnosed. he is 8 now and the school have only just accepted in the last year that he is a little boy with problems he isnt naughty. i hope you get the support you and you ds need and someone will probably be along soon with all the information you need good luck

Thanks DaftApeth.

He has seen a paediatrician for years due to various health problems, he is asthmatic, was lactose intolerant (but seems to have grown out of that), is slow to grow (is borderline for Growth Hormone Defficiency but is currently growing just enough not to need treatment) and has hypospadias.

I asked his teacher last week about what the time scales were for the assessment (I had asked for one a fortnight earlier and not heard any more) and it seems that she has decided that he doesn't need one, despite the fact that she called me in 3 times last week as he wasn't listening/following instructions/behaving.

Thanks ki28 and addictedtolatte, it helps to know that other people are going through similar.

If you could find out how she got an OT to help I would be really grateful addicted.

As I say he isn't as bad at home, but I think being in a large group throws him a bit, and I suppose over the years I have got used to how to word things so that he understands! I am very aware that I give him instructions in a far simpler way that I do his siblings (one older and one younger).

i will ask my sister later she had 3 years of been called up the school for his lack of interest and co-opertion. it is only in this final year leading up to his sats they are starting to help and recognise he does have problems.

its so frustrating when you know they are intelligent but it just does not reflect in there writing. they have observed this now so the OT are trying to push to get him to be able to do his exams on computer. he can use a keyboard no problem but pen to paper no chance. hope you get the support you need

DS2 is exactly the same, he can type on a PC better than I can but can't concentrate on writing!

You should be able to be referred to OT via the school or GP.

The OTs I worked with were very over-subscribed and, consequently, mainly saw pre-schoolers. We ended up going privately when ds needed to be seen and re-ferred ourselves.

You could also contact his paediatrician, if you get no joy with a referral via GP/school, as the Paed would also be able to refer. In fact, that might be my first port of call, if you have a friendly paed.

It sounds as though I was being nosey asking about the reasons fro his visits to the paed. Sorry, just wondered if there may be oother reasons for this

Your post could almost be describing my (now age 17) DS. Except for his reading age wasn't ahead and he was good on a bike. He was never diagnosed with anything, though I always expected he would as his written work was so bad. As he was muddling along in the middle of the year group, I didn't push it.
When he got to about 8 we got tough with his behaviour, especially the crying and wobblies and he learnt to control these.

Anyway, he got 8 good GCSE's, has just finished an IT diploma and passed his driving test in 7 weeks. And has a lovely girlfriend.

MY nephew was finally diagnosed with dyspraxia aged about 9. For me, it was always clear something was 'not right'. It was the tantrums etc but also the lack of social skills and not making eye contact. To be honest, his Dad, my brother is pretty similar.

THis may not be a popular thought on MN but I wonder whether we really need this labels.
I'm not sure it helps. All children are different. Normal covers a huge spectrum. If a child is exceptionally quiet and shy we ignore it rather than label it. But when the behaviour is 'difficult' we tend to want to give it a label.

I'm glad by son didn't get a 'label' as I don't see that it would have made any difference. Though, having said that, I'm not sure my nephew having a label makes any difference either. AFAIK he just avoids certain processed foods. He is bright, educationally so it not like he needs help there.

Probably haven't helped, sorry.

Don't worry, I didn't mind you asking about why he saw the paed. I've actually always put his problems with balance etc down the growth problems, but his little sister is also very small for her age (no underlying problems, she is just small) and yet she can ride a bike and a scooter better than he can.

Don't know whether it is relevant, but DS2 avoids eye contact too.

I have to admit to being loathe to give him a "label". But I have tried everything I can think of to get him to concentrate in school (bribes, reward charts, witholding treats if I get called in by his teacher etc etc) but nothing seems to work as he just seems completely baffled by being told off. He is getting more and more upset and confused, and so am I TBH.

School themselves say that they don't know what to do with him. They are amazed by his reading, and when he "gets" something he performs brilliantly. But he seems to spend a lot of time being completely confused.

I have also noticed that he is starting to avoid doing things that he knows he will struggle with, and I don't want that to happen as the only way that he will get better is through practice.

2old4thislark, it sounds as though your ds has done really well

I think a label is often useful when dealing with schools/teaching staff who have little awareness of these sorts of difficulties and how pervasive they can be in their affects.

For example, if the teachers have a problem with him being slow at changing for pe, they could use strategies to help him e.g. hanging his clothes in the order that he has to put them on. OTs will be great at giving strategies that could help as well as help raise awareness that op's ds is not just being naughty.

It is sad to think of any child struggling through school and failing at lots of things when some strategies could be put in place to help them succeed and see that success for themselves.

He may also benefit fom an Educational Psychology assessment and schools often listen to ed psychs better than many other health professionals.

He may need to be assessed by the school before they will refer to ed psychs though.

I would start asking questions about the referral process and pushing for more assistance from school on this - especially as he is starting to avoid things.

Sorry i keep thinking of other things!

Have you spoken to the schools SENCO and outlined what things worry you i.e. the areas of difficulty you have identified here?

When I think about it, my brother (now age 47) didn't achieve much at school despite being bright. My parents went to huge efforts to get him to buckle down at secondary school but he just wouldn't/couldn't.

He joined the Navy when he left school and got a degree there in avionics and now has an incredible job. Just realised my son too is all about computers and rather than the written word.

The engineering and IT world is full off people like this. The trouble is schooling today doesn't recognise that not all intelligent brains work in the same way.

Your son may be like my brother and really shine when he he's older and can make choices to suit his skills. Don't despair.

helyg- you have just described my dd1 (6) , i'm sure dd1 has dyspraxia, she already has a diagnosis of Aspergers syndrome and i'm finding it hard to get any proffesionals to listen to me.

Dd1 finds it hard to dress herself (do up zips and buttons), i can also tell her to get me something upstairs and by the time she has got up there she has forgot, she has low muscle tone and struggles with PE, she's a great reader but struggles to keep up with writing (although her writing is neat she's very slow).

We have just managed to get a referal after many months of me pushing the SENCO at school, she's now waiting to see OT and local pead.

I do wonder if my DS would have been given help if I had pushed it. I have no regrets though as he's done well (and he's a thoroughly lovely young man).

V proud mum

I'm not even sure if the school has a SENCO at the moment! There was a part time one, but she went on maternity leave and I have no idea if anyone took over her role.

I have spoken to the head about wanting him assessed, perhaps I should chase it up with him rather than his class teacher.

2old it is really good that your brother thrived once he was an adult. It just seems like such a long way away for my DS

Oh and get used to how often you'll hear 'mum, have you seen my keys/wallet/phone etc?'

Somethings don't change

helyg I know it's along time. It's unfortunate that our education system doesn't seem to recognise that some people can be bright but not good with the written word. And some people are not so academic but have other skills.

It's interesting to see what my DC's school mates are all doing now, especially when you know their histories. One girl wss written off at 15 but is now a top stylist at a trendy salon. One lad was expelled from both primary and secondary school but is now a lovely lad working for a local builder.

School will probably be a struggle, whether he's diagnosed or not, but he can still have a great future.

Yes definitely ask who is covering the SENCO role at school.

If no-one is (I would be surprised), I would discuss your concerns directly with the Head and ask for a referral to Ed Psych and for an OT assessment.

Your Paed could probably also refer to Ed Psych (my old colleague could, as could I, as a SLT) but it would also be worth discussing with SENCO/Head, imho, as they are more immediately accessible.